To want a refund... Longleat safari.

[Mrsweasley123]

Visited longleat for the festival of lights yesterday, have been before for the christmas event and loved it. It was an absolute disaster. Sat stuck in the safari for 4 hours, staff had to put all the animals away so the gates could be kept open to ease traffic so nothing to look at. We were standstill in an enclosure for an hour, nose to nose traffic of idling cars, my 6 year old niece wet herself because we were stuck for so long with no access to get out. Made it out eventually, another 30 minute queue to access filthy toilets. 45 min- 1hr queues for food. On foot attractions closed. The lights themselves were impressive but it was so overcrowded people were getting crushed, children crying. It was honestly horrendous. We complained to guest services who acknowledged they were over capacity. I expect christmas events to be busy and expect to queue but aibu to think this is ridiculous and expect a refund?

We had similar a few years back. Attractions for the kids closed at 4 just when we went in after getting stuck in the crap safari. Didn’t even end up seeing the lanterns as we left.

That does sound rubbish, OP. We go every year but I tend to book for the last day before school starts back in January because it’s a bit quieter. It sounds like they’ve massively oversold tickets this year.

Me too. And every person who goes there is contributing to animal cruelty.

There is nothing about the OP's post suggesting that what she was witnessing was for the benefit of the animals.

I am aware of animal sanctuaries, and I am not against those, but I am against rich westeners buying exotic animals to make money from them whilst the animals suffer. Fine if they want to use their money to open up a tiger sancutary in or near the animal's natural habitat. Longleat Park is something very far from that.

It's kind of my point. We aren't entitled to have exotic animals on our doorstep so that we don't have to spend lots of money flying across the world to see them. It's not for the benefit of the animal to live in zoo's where they are only valued because they bring the paying public in to see them.

Have you contacted Longleat yet to get a refund?

This.

But OPs more bothered she didn’t have anything to look at because they put the animals away to keep them safe. These places should be banned, the practices at Longleat are appalling. Wise up.

I know, and I wasn't responding to anything in the OPs post in particular. It was the apparent blanket "all zoos are bad and are just for the entertainment of lazy westerners" I was commenting on. There were a couple of those type of posts, I just quoted one almost at random.

I do agree that establishments do often get the balance between welfare & conservation, and raising money to allow them to do that, wrong. But without the money raised by visitors there just wouldn't be the money to carry out the conservation work. Now I've not been to Longleat myself so can't comment on there in particular and whether they have that balance right. But I do know that there sadly aren't enough philanthropists in the world who are willing and able to put their money into animal conservation, so self supporting establishments are the only option at present.

Message them on social media. I've always done it this way with any customer complaints. Tell them how disgusted you are

My partner and children went yesterday and an amazing time. The safari took a couple of hours and there were no issues with the Festival of Light. I hope you have fun!

Go to Stourhead instead - beautiful lights, setting and no sad (or invisible) animals.

Definitely complain. We saw the festival of lights back in late Nov, I think it was the first weekend it opened and we loved it (didn't do the safari on that occasion). Really sorry you didn't have the same experience. Sounds like complete mismanagement.

It sounds awful and I hope you get your refund.

But to be honest these massive Christmas spectacle events always sound like utter hell on toast to me. Why would anyone pay to queue up with hundreds of other people to stand in a massive crowd to look at some lights? And then queue again for over-used toilets and hugely over-priced greasy food? At vast expense?

Or maybe I'm just a bitter old woman. 🤷 😄

Did you pay on a credit card? Other comments seem to suggest their customer service is crap so if you did pay through a credit card, speak to them. I didn’t realise my card company would be so helpful when an experience day was not as expected and I got all my money back!

I see you made this and your first judgey-judgey post at 5 minutes past midnight - were you up late with terrible indigestion?

Or are you just a nasty piece of work who's kinda missed the point of the OP's post and not read any of the corroborating posts?

No OP
YANBU

I went to Longleat years and years ago and had no issues at all. So I booked this for my son's birthday without really thinking about it.
The thread has been useful as I shall now be prepared! I'll pack a big car picnic for entertainment and to avoid food queues for a start.

Poor animals. They really shouldn’t be used for our ‘entertainment’ like this.

Awful and I would insist on a refund.

Regarding your niece wetting herself - were you not even allowed to open the car doors in that area? I'm just asking because I saw a thread the other day where a child had wet herself because they were stuck in stationary traffic. I wonder why people don't open the front and back doors and stand the child between them to let them wee. I've had to do this myself before and it's not ideal, but better than wet clothing and car seats.

What? It's one thing disagreeing with a zoo but calling people "chavvy" for going too a zoo? What a sanctimonious pleb

The roaming lions and tigers generally mean you're not allowed to get out of your car for a wee 😂

You wonder why people don’t open their doors in a safari park?

Have you read the thread? The OP states clearly the animals were all locked inside. Roaming lions were not an issue here.

Would you take the risk of getting out in the Lion enclosure, on the promise that all the Lions were locked away? I very much doubt the staff would allow it either.

So do I. 😂😂😂😂